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The Stumptown Vegans Guide to One Day in Portland

Having written restaurant reviews for vegans for years, folks often ask us just where they should eat in Portland, OR, and we’re always happy to offer advice.

Now, there are obvious stand-out choices, and some decision-making to take into consideration: How long are you here for? What part of town are you staying in? Are you looking for brunch? Are you seeking gluten-free or raw options? Do you require a burrito? etc.Thinking about the hundreds of vegan bloggers arriving soon for the Vida Vegan Bloggers Conference who will have their hands full and may be wondering the same, we recently sat down in our downtown studio and recorded this casual podcast about our picks for dining, where to stay, where to stop, and what else to do in Portland, OR.

Overall, the two Stumptown Vegans agreed on the vast majority of suggestions, making them super Stumptown Vegans approved!

We both also strongly encourage you to visit – and stay – with friends. They’ll show you their city, and you’ll have even more greatness to share!

The entire podcast, where we give our live recommendations, favorite dishes and explanations can be heard here, and via Itunes (bear with us if it’s not up yet).

With that, listen as we present our Portland recommendations, condensed into a one day period, for following:

THE ULTIMATE STUMPTOWN VEGANS’ ONE DAY IN PORTLAND PICKS

Note: As always, personal taste is an opinionated matter and things change! We encourage your thoughts and suggestions below – as do out of town visitors, no doubt.

VooDoo Doughnuts – there is an entire shelf of vegan yeasted and cake doughnuts at both locations!

Bakery:

You’re in Portland. Are you crazy thinking you’ll only be stopping at one vegan bakery? Come on – two are on the same street and another is located in the vegan mini mall at SE 12th & Hawthorne! You have no excuse.

If you’re not down for cart culture, try a fresh lunch at Blossoming Lotus or Prasad, a thin crust slice at super vegan-friendly Sizzle Pie, or go for some Soy Curls at Portland’s beloved Taqueria Los Gorditos. Their original cart is located at SE 50th & Division and they also have a sit-down taqueria on SE 12th & Division.

Happy Hour
For happy hour, check out one of Portland’s spacious bar patios, most importantly at two must-gos: the entirely vegan Bye & Bye (holy BBQ platter!) on NE Alberta or the new Sweet Hereafter (heck yes to the Steve Martin!) on SE Belmont. Did someone say cocktails (or mocktails) in mason jars? They did. We also recommend checking out Star Bar and good ‘ole Tube.

Dinner
For dinnertime, the Stumptown Vegans agree, there is but one choice (so don’t go on a Sunday or Monday when they’re closed!): Portobello Vegan Trattoria. Whether you get the glorious gnocchi, or the veggie burger, or the pizza, or simply the creamy beet tartare – it’s simply that impressive.

Late night drinks & bites
After dinner, you may want to fit in a drink – or even another bite, around town. There’s APEX: a beer bar, across from Portobello, as well as The Victory Bar down Division St, featuring classy cocktails. If more nibbles are calling your name, even hours later, check out some of Portland’s late night options at Cartopia at SE 12th & Hawthorne: Whiffies, Potato Champion! and Pyro Pizza, or across the river to the new & intriguing UniCart or nearby VooDoo. There’s always room for a doughnut – or always time to pick up a pink box to share for the trip home.Here are some more places you should really check out while you’re in town – Shopping & Sights:

Wow…those are about 30 of the TOP places
Are there more?
If there are over 70 quality vegetarian and vegan places in PDX, TimeToVegOut.com is certainly looking forward to making it one of our featured cities.

I finally tried Portobello a couple weeks ago and was sadly unimpressed. I thought that the pizza was not nearly as delicious as Pyro Pizza’s cheaper-for-the-same-size selections. I didn’t try the gnocchi, which I’ve heard good things about, but we also did not enjoy the Chocolate Rosemary cake. It was just ok.

Taqueria Los Gorditos, on the other hand, is my favorite Mexican food place in town and yes the soy curls are delicious, but so is their tofu! My favorite is tofu tacos, and my partner’s favorite is soy curls in a burrito.

I also highly recommend Black Sheep Bakery Cafe as a delightful vegan-friendly experience. Their BBq Tofu and Curried Tofu make the best sandwich fillings and their veggies and bread are super fresh and tasty.

Someone should review Tula’s gluten-free bakery on the corner of NE Martin Luther King and Alberta. My husband is vegan and I am gluten-intolerant. Everything is marked as to whether or not it has eggs or dairy in it and most items do not. This is an excellent bakery for gluten-free folks! They also serve pizza, salads and soups for lunch. I’m hooked.

Hi there! I’m the owner of Petunia’s Pies & Pastries. We are an entirely gluten free & vegan bakery in Portland. We started in 2010, and finally opened our retail storefront in March this year! I noticed your post listing us, but as “no physical location”, and another post about the 3 all vegan bakeries in Portland, and we were not listed. I’m sure it’s an old post, but wanted to update you guys just in case! If you have any questions, email me at lisa@petuniaspiesandpastries.com🙂 Thanks guys!